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I never dared to imagine that I could fight alongside you and defeat that strange enemy.

You used a blood crystal left behind by a Vampire.

Did you pierce your body with it? No, that wouldn't have induced such a drastic change.

You swallowed some fragments.

You willingly accepted Duq'arael's blood and Arts.

I've always had the Vampire bloodline, even though it's pretty faint by now... But I could still sense the Sanguinarch's call, even if it felt nothing more like a whisper.

I've seen those worms crawl out of Sarkaz corpses before, so there's no need to pity me for not knowing the consequences.

Instead of dying in the gutter like a real worm without so much as a yelp, I rather accept this power and die on the battlefield. Like a real Sarkaz.

This isn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. A few months ago, while driving aimlessly through the wilderness, I heard a broadcast about what was happening in Londinium...

And somehow, I just drove all the way here.

Shopkeep says I read too many stories about knights... That's rubbish. Everyone knows that Kazdel doesn't need knights.

I just wanted to know if there was a real path in life that I could follow, one with a proper end. If I could give some meaning to my life without just wasting it.

And then I met you. 'The path of the King of Sarkaz is the path for me.' We—gah—We fought alongside each other on this path. Like you said, we're in this together.

And now, the fighting's stopped. At least, for now. My buddies are still alive.

Your Highness, you can deal with me as you see fit.

D-Deal with you? What are you all talking about?

Driver, why've you become like... like...?

Real scary, aren't I?

Your Highness, please, I beg of you, help her! A-And, Lord Banshee, sire, I humbly return this coin to you. It is the only thing of worth I have.

Witchcraft is the trigger to her condition, not the cause.

There is nothing I, Amiya, and even Dr. Kal'tsit could do to reverse the changes.

Then what are you going to do? Don't tell me you're going to kill her like you killed those red worms?

Stand aside, Shopkeep. This was my decision.

Your Highness, I heard that... in the past, the greatest warriors of the Sarkaz, right before they died, could request that the King grant them a vision.

I don't know if *cough* if I count or not.

Amiya raises her hand.

Black Arts coalesce at her fingertips.

A desperate smile emerges on the Driver's face as she unconsciously looks at the top of the Cautus's head, searching for the legendary Black Crown.

My... King...

What will I see? I just hope... it won't be me driving that piece of junk around Kazdel, haha.

Driver, can you tell me your name? Your real one.

Is this part of the ceremony too?

Well... If I knew your name, it would be a lot easier.

...Maryla. A common name.

(Kazimierzian) Maryla.

Sorry, I never stayed in Kazimierz for long, so my pronunciation might be off.

No, it's good. It's been so long since anyone called my name so gently, ever since my mother died.

Maryla, I refuse your request.

You won't grant me a vision? I suppose... I was never a warrior to begin with.

No, that's not it. I refuse to let you die here, by my hand, Maryla.

You have not become the Vampire's creation.

Your looks have changed, but I don't sense you becoming any more evil or bloodthirsty.

And even if you are showing a bit more of your ancient bloodline, you're still you.

You do not deserve punishment, nor should I be the one to give you your honor.

But you are the King of Sarkaz...

Please, call me Amiya.

Miss Maryla, I've had my share of worries because your team, er, isn't comprised of Rhodes Island operators.

I was thinking earlier about how we could get along with you three. But in truth, it wasn't a problem at all.

If you wish to fight alongside us for our common goal, then I welcome you with open arms.

The young Cautus keeps her arms outstretched, her blue eyes blinking.

The Sarkaz woman grasps her slender fingers.

Despite not feeling much sorrow, two rows of scarlet tears still flow down her cheeks.

Were you watching Amiya?

She's changed a lot these past few years.

She's become more mature.;She's always been a good leader.

The core of the Vampire's ritual has changed.

It is no longer just a tool to amplify the strength of the Sarkaz, nor a simple collector of energy.

It is deepening the Sarkaz bloodlines' bond with Originium... with Amnannam.

The Blood of Teekaz is playing a role in this somehow.

The strength of the Sarkaz bloodlines acts as a direct catalyst to the Originium’s spread. In turn, the information within Originium empowers the bloodlines, changing their powers and other traits.

The effect of these Arts seems familiar.

Didn't Salus merge a lot of bloodlines?;Confessarii are skilled at bringing out the power in bloodlines.

We must be ready.

The threat that Amnannam represents... may very well be far greater than anything we expected.

Twenty-three hours into the operation...

The route ahead has been cleared.

I'll continue scouting the Sarkaz army's movements. Haven't found any trace of them yet.

Thank you, Misery. Continue to set up those sentry posts.

Morgan, found any surviving Victorian soldiers where you're at?

I'm afraid not.

Nothing but Originium crystals here.

We haven't run into any Victorian troops, corpses, or wrecks since we entered the Westbound Forest.

Dammit! We can tell there's been a bloody huge battle, so where've all the people gone?

The terrain here keeps changing. Maybe the ground... ate them all up.

We cannot underestimate the tenacity of the people. It is only because there are those who refuse to give up that the Exemplars even exist.

It's why we're here in the first place.

Shearer, keep the medics ready to receive any army remnants and civilians.

We've got extra supplies, so no need to worry on that front.

The bad news is that with so many Infected among our troops now, it's almost impossible to distinguish between infected and uninfected soldiers.

I'd like your professional opinion on that matter. Would registering the Infected help our men or not?

Funny you should ask. 'Registering the Infected'... That might have been the first thing they taught me at the military academy.

But where we stand now, I'd say there's no real sense to it.

I see. Then let's stop registering them.

Just try your best to provide everyone, infected or not, with Rhodes Island's recommended protective measures.

The rest... is not up to us anymore, at least not for now.

Let's all focus on surviving this war first. Then we can worry about the wars to come.

Oh, my drone's back.

How awful, the entire propulsion system has been clotted up by crystal dust.

Based on monitored data, environmental Originium concentration is still fluctuating wildly.

Send me that data you just got, Rockrock. We've got a new iteration of our Originium activation trend model, and I want to see if our calculations fit real-world data.

Ugh, looks like there's not enough data to do that. The trend of this curve... Let's wait for Viktor's team to finish off that diffractometer analysis report, then we should be able to calculate the safe areas in real-time.

This place freaks me out. It's like one minute it's deadly quiet, the next there's some terrifying Originium mountain pushing its way up out of the dirt. The safe areas keep changing.

Although we've managed to reestablish short-range comms after working our asses off, if you go even a step out of range, all that interference'll just get in the way again.

Good thing I planned ahead and asked Raidian for her Arts Unit before we left for Londinium. After a little copy and paste, I made a knockoff version. It's not as good as the real deal, but it should help.

Once we've got these portable communications towers up, we'll be able to transmit the locations of the safe areas to anyone on the battlefield who needs them.

This information will save many lives.

Well, yeah. That's what Rhodes Island does.

Horn, status update.

We've successfully arrived at Gibsonham. It's the last supply point before we reach the front at Silverrock Bluffs.

The reconnaissance team's already made their initial scouting report. Looks like there are traces of the ducal armies here. Must have passed through on the way to the front a few days ago.